County Employee Charged For Scamming Public Services

Montgomery County Police say they have charged a woman with theft and fraud for lying about her income in order to qualify for a housing subsidy.

Police say they have charged 45-year-old Bernadette Hall, of Olney, with two counts of forgery of private documents, theft: less $1,000 value, welfare fraud, and making a fraudulent statement in an application to obtain public assistance (food stamps).

Late last year, Hall was also charged with two counts of forgery of private documents, theft scheme $1,000 to under $10,000, theft $1,000 to under $10,000, theft: less than $1,000 value, and making a false statement for the purpose of getting a housing subsidy according to police.

Authorities sayHall had been getting low-income housing subsidies from the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) of Montgomery County. However, last November, the 4th District Community Services Officer received information that Hall had been lying about her income in order to get the housing subsidy.

According to officials, during an investigation, the officer was able to determine Hall was a Montgomery County Ride on Bus Driver. The officer was then able to find out her real income.

Additionally, the officer discovered that Hall had falsified her pay when she had submitted her application to the Montgomery County Department of Social Services. Police say she did this in order to make it seem as if she earned less money than she did.

Police say the investigation into this case is ongoing.

The officer and the StateÆs AttorneyÆs Office say they are working together to determine if a charge of theft scheme is applicable in connecting these two cases.